Luther Allison (August 17, 1939 – August 12, 1997) was an American blues guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas, and moved with his family to Chicago in 1951. He taught himself guitar and began listening to blues extensively. Three years later he began hanging around outside blues nightclubs with the hopes of being invited to perform. He played with Howlin' Wolf's band and backed James Cotton.
Allison's big break came in 1957, when Howlin' Wolf invited him to the stage. Freddie King took Allison under his wing, and after King got a record deal, Allison took over his gig in the house band of a club on Chicago's West Side. He worked the club circuit in the late 1950s and early 1960s and recorded his first single in 1965. He signed a recording contract with Delmark Records in 1967 and released his debut album, Love Me Mama, the following year. He performed a well-received set at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival and as a result was asked to perform there in each of the next three years. He toured nationwide. In 1972, he signed with Motown Records, one of the few blues artists on that label. In the mid-1970s he toured Europe. He moved to France in 1977.
Allison was known for his powerful concert performances, lengthy soulful guitar solos and crowd walking with his Gibson Les Paul. He lived briefly during this period in Peoria, Illinois, where he signed with Rumble Records, releasing two live recordings, "Gonna Be a Live One in Here Tonight", produced by Bill Knight, and "Power Wire Blues", produced by George Faber and Jeffrey P. Hess. Allison played the bar circuit in the United States during this period and spent eight months of the year in Europe at high-profile venues, including the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1992, he performed with the French rock and roll star Johnny Hallyday in 18 shows in Paris, also playing during the intermission.
Allison's manager and European agent, Thomas Ruf, founded Ruf Records in 1994. Signing with Ruf Records, Allison launched a comeback in association with Alligator Records. Alligator founder Bruce Iglauer convinced Allison to return to the United States. The album Soul Fixin' Man was recorded and released in 1994, and Allison toured the United States and Canada. He won four W. C. Handy Awards in 1994. With the James Solberg Band backing him, nonstop touring and the release of Blue Streak(featuring the song "Cherry Red Wine"), Allison earned more Handy Awards and gained wider recognition. He won several Living Blues Awards and was featured on the covers of blues publications. During his tour in the summer of 1997, Allison checked into a hospital for dizziness and loss of coordination. It was discovered that he had a tumor on his lung that had metastasized to his brain. In and out of a coma, Allison died on August 12, 1997, five days before his 58th birthday, in Madison, Wisconsin. His album Reckless had just been released.
His son Bernard Allison, at one time a member of his band, is now a solo recording artist. Bernard, the youngest of nine siblings, was exposed to all kinds of music by his father. The younger Allison made his first venture into the music business at age 13, when he performed on a live album with his father.
Allison was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2000, the Chicago Sun-Times called him "the Bruce Springsteen of the blues". He was a strong influence on many young blues guitarists, such as Chris Beard and Reggie Sears. Allison is buried at Washington Memory Gardens Cemetery in Homewood, Illinois.
1969
Delmark 625/ 14 tracks/ 60:45 min.
1972
Gordy 946/ 11 tracks/ 56:10 min.
1973
Gordy 967/ 12 tracks/ 70:26 min.
1977
Black & Blue 33524/ 9 tracks/ 58:33 min.
1979
Free Bird FLY 06/ 6 tracks/ 44:04 min.
Ruf 1059 (1995 CD)/ 10 tracks/ 71:28 min.
1979
Catfish 133/ 7 tracks/ 48:13 min.
1980
Paris Album C 3305/ 8 tracks/ 36:31 min.
1984
JSP 1077/ 8 tracks/ 39:03 min.
1984
Encore 131/ 11 tracks/ 50:15 min.
1985
Encore 133/ 12 tracks/ 49:53 min.
1987
Entente 88-3067/ 9 tracks/ 44:28 min.
1987
Blind Pig 2287/ 11 tracks/ 50:15 min.
(same as 1984 Life is a Bitch)
1989
Ruf 1028/ 12 tracks/ 75:47 min.
(Live at Quasimodo Club, Berlin)
1991
TIS LACD 1991-2 WW/11 tracks/ 75:34 min.
1992
inakustik 1715/ 12 tracks/ 68:44 min.
1994
Alligator Rec. 4820/ 12 tracks/ 55:41 min.
1995
Alligator Rec. 4834/ 12 tracks/ 53:48 min.
1995
Orbis NC44/ 11 tracks/ 56:13 min.
1996
Charly BM 37/ 6 tracks/ 43:13 min.
1996
C23-A-89L/9 tracks/ 67:43 min.
1996
Ruf 1342/ 13 tracks/ 79:51 min.
1996
Motown 530612/ 17 tracks/ 71:51 min.
1997
Alligator Rec. 4849/ 14 tracks/ 65:18 min.
1999
Alligator Rec. 4869 (2 CD)/ 19 tracks/ 131:42 min.
2002
Ruf 1060/ 11 tracks/ 68:37 min.
2007 (recorded 1958)
Ruf 1132/ 8 tracks/ 25:36 min.
2009
Ruf 1157/ 10 tracks/ 71:52 min.
2001
DVD, Ruf 3001/ 18 tracks / 71 min.
